[Genesis2245]

So I went down to Marco Island, FL last week. We decided to rent a house for the week and it turned out to be a great decision. This is my view for the pool.


Did a lot of fishing off the docks throughout the week and caught a bunch of fish I have never caught before which was fun. Got plenty of Jacks, Snappers, Sheepshead, Ladyfish, and the annoying Catfish in the channel. My sister in law caught this ugly little guy.


Turns out it is an Oyster Toadfish. What and ugly fish. Per info I received from Peco I decided to set up a charter with Captain Mike Bailey on the Ms B Haven. Wow what a Blast. We just got out the to reef and my wife caught a couple of Spanish Mackerel. He rigged one of them up for me and tanked it to the bottom of the reef. About 5 minutes later I pulled in this beast.


Wow was I sore after that fight. This Goliath Grouper was about 150lbs. By far the largest fish I have ever caught. Just thinking of the fight makes me sore. All 4 of us on the boat got at least one Goliath with my wife havibg the largest at about 175. Our other catches included some Cobia a small reef shark and tons of Mackerel and Jacks. On our way back in I mentioned that I had not yet gotten a snook and he brought us to a dock on the way in and we all got several which unfortunately are on my wifes phone which I have yet to upload. All in all it was one hell of a trip and I would recommend him to anyone. Thank you for the Info Peco cause it certainly made my week. Here is the pic of what we brought home for dinner.


After that fishing trip I decided to go for sharks from my dock. After getting broken off a few times we made some gear adjustments and went back at it again. We got into a monster that me and my brother in law fought for about 30 minutes. When we 1st hooked him he ran down current. We pulled him within 25 yards of the dock and then he continued up current. At this point we thought we had it in the bag. The he said oh look at this fast current going the other way. He then launched down current again. We were trading the rod back and forth and fighting like hell. And all the while watching the line on the spool get smaller and smaller. Finally I could see the inside of the reel and knew it was over. We gained a few feet back and the he turned and pop we lost him. By the feel of the weight and the fight we both assume he was over 200lbs but did not get the chance to see him. At that point we were both done for the night cause neither of us could hold a pole any longer but man was it fun. Next year I'll go with a new setup and see if I can get my line back from him.

Then to add insult to injury. My wife fishing with my light setup and a shrimp on the end pulls in a little 3 foot hammerhead and informs us if we wanna learn to catch sharks she will give us lessons. Grrr lol.

[Michael]

Sounds like a BLAST!!!!!